Birthday in Disguise

         Taking my cousin Philip's observation to heart, today is still October 15th in the U.S. In this sense, what I've done in the past about 40 hours is how I've celebrated my birthday. So let's recap those hours:

• 7:00 - Woke up.
• 8:00 - Received some Kinokuniya vouchers from parents. This made me feel young. =]
• 8:01 - Realized I am 19. This made me feel old. =[
• 10:30-12:30 - Taught Essay Writing. Had an "aha" moment somewhere in the middle, when I noticed that my pupil no longer hesitates to get her ideas on paper.
• 13:00 - Went to the bank to take care of university/debate club matters.
• 13:30-15:15 - Lost myself in Kinokuniya @Paragon. Ended up buying this:

• 15:35 - Made my way over to Coldstone @Central World. Sweet cream with cherry pie filling.

• 16:00 - Bumped into Benya. Hi.
• 16:30 - Bought some birthday desserts with mom, for later.
• 17:50-19:30 - Family dinner @"Sui Kin", a Japanese restaurant. (Reviews in the next post.)

• 20:00 - On the way home, made the decision to go to church the next day.
• 20:30-22:00 - Scrolled down my Facebook wall. 
• 22:30-00:00 - Watched TV mindlessly.
  Took some self-photos for the purpose of preserving my 19-year-old face for the future:

• 00:00 - Midnight snack. Read Freakonomics until I eventually passed out.
• 8:00 - Woke up on the couch.
• 10:00 - Oh my goodness, I can't believe I'm at church!
• 11:30-12:00 - Met some church people. Few awkward moments here and there. Not used to telling people I'm 19.
• 14:00 - Got home and made chai on the stove.
• 14:15 - Had chai and desserts with parents.

          To most, this would not seem like much of a celebration than geeky activities, but I actually did have, as 300+ electronic messages wished me to, a happy birthday. I don't really believe in going all-out on one specific day of the year to celebrate someone's life. I can have "cake" day. I don't need to have it on a nice plate, after dinner, on a certain date. Don't get me wrong, when I was a kid I had the most extravagant birthday parties. It was definitely a bigger deal when you were younger because everyday was full sunshine. But after 15 or 16, the best gift you can give yourself is a day without worry, pain, or stress. And the best way to celebrate your life to to try to live that day everyday.